MechaBay
MechaBay
Discord Mastodon Bluesky Twitter/X
Discord About us Support us

Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc

Anime production company in Japan.
Jenxi Seow Published 11 Feb 2025 Updated 11 Feb 2025
Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc

Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc (Japanese: 株式会社バンダイナムコフィルムワークス, Hepburn: Kabushiki gaisha Bandai Namuko Firumuwākusu), formerly and still famously known as Sunrise Inc, is a Japanese entertainment company owned by Bandai Namco Holdings focused on anime production, planning and management. It was founded in September 1972 by former Mushi Production staff.

History

According to interviews with studio members, the company was founded as Sunrise Studio, Limited (有限会社サンライズスタジオ, Yugen-kaisha Sanraizu Sutajio) by former members of Mushi Production in 1972. Rather than having anime production revolve around a single creator like Mushi (headed by Osamu Tezuka), Sunrise decided production should focus on producers. Since the market for mainstream anime was already dominated by existing companies, Sunrise chose to focus on mecha anime, which was more difficult to animate but could be used to sell toys.

The studio worked closely with toy manufacturer Bandai, primarily marketing mecha anime-based toys. In February 1994, Sunrise Inc became part of the Bandai Group, against the wishes of Gundam series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. Bandai later merged with Namco to form the current corporate structure.

On 1 April 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings adopted a new logo and underwent a major reorganisation. This resulted in Sunrise absorbing the visual arts division of Bandai Namco Arts, which was dissolved that same day. Following this, the company adopted the same logo as its parent and changed its name to Bandai Namco Filmworks. Its music division, Sunrise Music, similarly absorbed Bandai Namco Arts’ music operations and changed its name to Bandai Namco Music Live.

The Sunrise name has been kept as one of the major brands of the company as of August 2023. On 1 March 2024, Bandai Namco Filmworks announced the acquisition of anime studio Eight Bit, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

On 4 February 2025, Bandai Namco Holdings USA announced the establishment of Bandai Namco Filmworks America to handle the company’s international licensing and brand management activities, effective 1 April. The announcement coincided with the start of co-financing and co-production of the Gundam film with Legendary Pictures.

Studios

The company operates multiple animation studios, each with its own specialities:

Studio 1

Established when Sunrise was founded in 1972, Studio 1 created many foundational works including Mobile Suit Gundam, Space Runaway Ideon, and Armored Trooper Votoms. The studio was responsible for various later Gundam instalments including G Gundam, Gundam Wing, Turn A Gundam, Gundam Unicorn, Gundam: The Origin, and Gundam Hathaway.

Studio 2

Created around 1974-75, Studio 2 produced Aura Battler Dunbine and several significant Gundam series including Zeta Gundam, Gundam ZZ, Victory Gundam, Char’s Counterattack and Gundam F91. Some key members left to form Bones in 1998.

Studio 3

Established in 1975, Studio 3’s early works included Blue Comet SPT Layzner. The studio was responsible for many Gundam instalments, including Gundam 0083, 08th MS Team, Gundam SEED Destiny, Gundam 00, Gundam AGE, Gundam Build Fighters, Iron-Blooded Orphans and The Witch from Mercury.

Other Studios

  • Studio 4 (est. 1979) – Originally worked on The Ultraman before becoming inactive in 1987. The current Studio 4 began as support for Studio 2.
  • Studio 5 (est. 1979) – Notable works include Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket.
  • Studio 6 (est. 1983) – Provided animation for Western productions including Batman: The Animated Series.
  • Studio 7 (est. 1985) – Known for the Yūsha series.
  • Studio 8-11 (est. 1995-2009) – Handle various productions
  • D.I.D. – Specialises in CG production for many of the company’s shows
  • Nerima Studio – Formerly known as Sunrise Emotion
  • Sunrise Origin Studio – Handles in-between animation
  • White Base – Opened in November 2021, named after the famous battleship from the original Gundam

D.I.D.

Sunrise’s dedicated CG production studio assists in creating computer graphics for many of the company’s mecha shows, notably:

  • Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO
  • Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin
  • Tiger & Bunny
  • Zegapain
  • Cross Ange
  • Valvrave the Liberator

White Base

Opened in November 2021, this new studio was named after the iconic assault carrier from Mobile Suit Gundam.

Co-productions

In the late 1970s, Sunrise collaborated extensively with Toei Company on several influential mecha series. These included:

  • Combattler V (1976)
  • Voltes V (1977)
  • Tōshō Daimos (1978)
  • Daltanious (1979)

Notable Mecha Series

The studio is renowned for producing influential mecha anime series including:

1970s

  • Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)
  • Brave Raideen (1975)
  • Invincible Super Man Zambot 3 (1977)
  • Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3 (1978)

1980s

  • Space Runaway Ideon (1980)
  • Combat Mecha Xabungle (1982)
  • Aura Battler Dunbine (1983)
  • Armored Trooper Votoms (1983)
  • Heavy Metal L-Gaim (1984)
  • Blue Comet SPT Layzner (1985)
  • Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986)
  • Metal Armor Dragonar (1987)

1990s-2000s

  • Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993)
  • Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995)
  • After War Gundam X (1996)
  • Turn A Gundam (1999)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (2007)

2010s-2020s

  • Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (2011)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (2022)

Awards and Recognition

Anime created by Sunrise have won multiple Animage Anime Grand Prix prizes:

  • Mobile Suit Gundam (1979 and first half of 1980)
  • Space Runaway Ideon (second half of 1980)
  • Crusher Joe (1983)
  • Dirty Pair (1985)
  • Future GPX Cyber Formula (1991)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (2004 and 2005)
  • Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (2006 and 2007)

Notable figures

Many notable figures in the anime industry started their careers at Sunrise/Bandai Namco Filmworks, including:

Mechanical designers

  • Kunio Okawara
  • Hajime Katoki
  • Yutaka Izubuchi
  • Shōji Kawamori
  • Kazutaka Miyatake
  • Mika Akitaka
  • Junya Ishigaki
  • Seiichi Nakatani
  • Kimotoshi Yamane

Directors

  • Yoshiyuki Tomino – Creator of Mobile Suit Gundam
  • Gorō Taniguchi
  • Ryōsuke Takahashi
  • Shinichirō Watanabe
  • Mitsuo Fukuda – Director of Gundam SEED series
  • Yasuhiro Imagawa – Director of G Gundam
  • Seiji Mizushima – Director of Gundam 00

Character designers

  • Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
  • Yoshiyuki Itō
  • Takehiko Itō
  • Hiroyuki Kitazume
  • Yoshihito Hishinuma
  • Hisashi Hirai – Character designer for Gundam SEED series
  • Shukō Murase

Animation directors

  • Masashi Ōbari
  • Hiroyuki Okiura
  • Masami Ōbari
  • Hirotoshi Sano

Former staff

Several prominent anime studios were founded by former Sunrise staff:

  • Studio Deen (1975) – Founded by Hiroshi Hasegawa and Takeshi Mochida
  • Bones (1998) – Founded by Masahiko Minami
  • Manglobe (2002) – Founded by Shinichirō Kobayashi and Takashi Kochiyama
  • A-1 Pictures (2005) – Founded by Masuo Ueda and Mikihiro Iwata

International distribution

Most anime produced by Sunrise and licensed by Bandai Visual in Japan was distributed internationally by Bandai Entertainment in North America and Beez Entertainment in Europe until both companies closed in 2012 following Bandai Entertainment’s restructuring.

At Anime Boston 2013, Sunrise announced they would begin licensing anime directly in North America, negotiating with distributors like Sentai Filmworks, Funimation, and Viz Media for DVD and Blu-ray distribution. Right Stuf agreed to distribute and re-release Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn on DVD in North America.

In 2014, the deal expanded to include previously licensed Gundam series (Mobile Suit Gundam, ∀ Gundam) and works not previously released in North America, including Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.

Legacy

The studio’s work is known for its fluid animation and action sequences, with fans often referring to the quality of their work as “Sunrise Smooth”. Their productions have influenced the mecha genre significantly, particularly through the long-running Gundam franchise which helped establish the “real robot” genre in anime.